Partial or non-adherence to medication is high amongst patients with schizophrenia. Rates of non-adherence of up to 72% have being reported depending on the method used and the patient population. Adherence is essential for optimal long-term patient outcomes in schizophrenia and failure to adhere to medication can have a major impact on the course of illness and treatment outcomes.

The objective of the EMEA (Europe, Middle east and Africa) ADHES survey was to collect psychiatrist's perceptions of the assessment, reasons and management of partial and non-adherence to medication.

The aim of this poster is to present psychiatrist's perceptions collected in the EMEA ADHES survey.

The survey was devised to ascertain psychiatrists’ preferred methods of assessing adherence, their perceptions of the level of adherence, reasons for non-adherence and on strategies to improve adherence.

Psychiatrists estimated that during the previous month more than half of their patients (53%) were partially or non-adherent. They estimated that as few as a third of patients who deteriorated after stopping medication was able to attribute this to their non-adherence. 76% of psychiatrists assessed adherence most frequently by asking their patient explicitly. Use of long-acting treatment was the preferred choice to address adherence problems for 62% of respondents.

This EMEA-wide survey illustrates that while respondents recognised the relevance and importance of partial and non-adherence to medication, there remains a need for more proactive management of treatment adherence of patients with schizophrenia to reduce the frequency and consequences of relapse.